{"id":47,"date":"2023-03-23T19:23:14","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T19:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dvc.mycareerfocus.org\/summer-2023-volume-6-issue-1\/recession-proof-career-paths-are-you-worried-about-the-long-term-viability-of-your-job-in-a-recession\/"},"modified":"2023-06-21T18:12:04","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T18:12:04","slug":"building-a-better-future-despite-the-odds-unstoppable-dvc-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dvc.mycareerfocus.org\/summer-fall-2023-volume-6-issue-1\/building-a-better-future-despite-the-odds-unstoppable-dvc-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a Better Future Despite the Odds: Unstoppable DVC Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cGrowing up in a single-parent home, I often felt the sting of economic uncertainty. Watching\u00a0my mother struggle financially and my father struggle with past addiction, I knew I had to find a long-term career. I thought that would be the Army until I became ill and was honorably discharged due to my heart condition. I came up with a new plan and got to work,\u201d said Adrienne Navarro, who completed her associate in science in allied health at DVC.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"AdrienneAfter additional training, Navarro built a 10-year career as a licensed vocational nurse but wanted to continue her education to obtain a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) and become a registered nurse to create a better quality of life for her family.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI never wanted my family to wonder if we could cover the bills like I did when I was growing up. I needed a career that would allow me to be indispensable,\u201d said Navarro.<\/span><\/p>\n

Navarro used her education benefits through the GI Bill to return to college, with the help of the DVC Student Veterans Resource Center. She also accessed childcare for her son through the DVC children\u2019s center. She admits there were times when she questioned her decision, such as when she had to pump breastmilk in the college bathroom (before there were dedicated lactation rooms), or when she studied for an exam using the light of her laptop to avoid waking her son.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut it was also in those moments that I knew I wasn’t doing this for me, it was for him,\u201d said Navarro.<\/span><\/p>\n

Building a career for now, and for the future<\/span><\/h2>\n

Since graduating from DVC, Navarro has accomplished far more than she initially planned. She transferred to Duke University and completed her BSN, and then became a board-certified women\u2019s health nurse practitioner (NP). And this fall, Navarro will continue at Duke University to complete her\u00a0<\/span>doctor of nursing practice (DNP).<\/span><\/p>\n

Navarro understands from her own experience that taking steps to make a major life change can be daunting. But she encourages others to face those challenges head-on.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can do hard things. There will be times you are scared, and exhausted, when you have to rearrange your life or ask for help from others, and that’s OKAY! At the end of your journey, it will only make your success that much sweeter,\u201d said Navarro.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information about the allied health program at DVC, visit www.dvc.edu\/allied-health<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Interested in a public health or nursing career?\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Allied<\/p>\n

Bay Area Job Outlook<\/span><\/h2>\n